[Shaun]

it's charming and forgiveable when an Irish white guy threatens to batter a woman, but when a black woman says she "knows people" that's some serious shit.

I'm not saying the British public are racist. I think Big Brother viewers are largely dense and likely to forgive semi-attractive men of just about anything. Plus the hypersensitivity of post-Jade Goody Big Brother seems to have died down.

I think a large amount of the criticism Conor's receiving is probably driven by frustration at his prior non-presence in the house. Maybe there's a sense of opportunism here to get him ejected, since aside from this he's really done nothing at all. But that really shouldn't overshadow a clear, violent threat to a housemate.